The German Federal Government lacks its own data regarding the utilization of municipalities in accommodating asylum seekers, despite this being a key justification for border controls, according to a response from the Federal Interior Ministry to a request from the Green Party. The “Rheinische Post” reported on the matter in Friday’s edition.
The Green Party inquired about the number of reception facilities in federal states and municipalities for which the government possesses current written information regarding occupancy and provision of care for asylum seekers and how many of these facilities were experiencing overload. The Ministry’s response stated that “the Federal Government does not possess comprehensive independent data regarding the individual reception facilities of the federal states and municipalities, in the sense of the inquiry.
Responsibility for the reception, accommodation and care of asylum seekers lies with the federal states. As of March 2025, 399,524 individuals were registered in initial reception facilities, a figure that includes Ukrainian refugees who do not fall under the category of asylum seekers, the government’s response clarifies.
Irene Mihalic, Parliamentary Secretary of the Green Party faction, sharply criticized Interior Minister Alexander Dobrindt (CSU). She highlighted the apparent contradiction in Dobrindt’s justification of ongoing border controls and rejections based on a purported emergency situation, while simultaneously lacking an overview of whether such an emergency exists within the municipalities.
Mihalic suggested that, to Dobrindt, the municipalities seemed like “a distant star” demonstrating little interest in their concerns. She further contended that border controls were increasingly revealed as purely populist symbolic politics, lacking a factual basis. She added that those who operate on a post-factual basis inevitably overlook real needs.